Reichert fires aide over Web-site prank

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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King County Sheriff and congressional candidate Dave Reichert fired a high-level aide and campaign organizer yesterday for buying Web site addresses containing the name of a campaign opponent.

Reichert said he fired Kent Patton from his job at the sheriff's office and dismissed him from the campaign because "this is not the way I operate."

Patton, who was one of two aides to the sheriff and who helped set up Reichert's campaign, has said he meant it as a harmless prank when he bought Web addresses with the name of Luke Esser, a Republican state senator competing against Reichert for the Republican nomination in the 8th Congressional District.

Esser dismissed Patton's explanation as an excuse for a possible dirty tactic.

Reichert said last night that he didn't share Patton's interpretation of the incident.

"I don't view this as a joke," he said. "This is a mistake that I view as very unprofessional."

In races elsewhere, Web sites with a candidate's name have been used by opponents as a way to publish criticism of the candidate, or to deny the candidate use of that Web address.

Earlier yesterday, Patton sought to bring the dispute to an end by transferring control of the three Web addresses — lukeesserforcongress.com, lukeesserforcongress.org and lukeesser.org — to the Esser campaign.

"The sheriff runs an incredibly tight ship," Patton said after his firing was announced. "He just felt that anything that got into the realm that it would bring into question his honesty and integrity, he just had to act on it."

Esser welcomed the news.
 
"I will say I'm pleased that the sheriff has taken this incident seriously. I always thought that this incident was serious," he said.

Patton, who worked in the sheriff's office for 10 months advising him on policy matters, said no one else on campaign knew he had acquired the Web sites.

Reichert's campaign has sought to capitalize on his image as a clean-cut veteran lawman. He has little history with the Republican Party or experience in a hard-fought election. He's facing off against three party veterans: Esser, former federal prosecutor Diane Tebelius and Bellevue City Councilman Conrad Lee.

Democrats are also gunning for the seat, long controlled by Republican icon Jennifer Dunn, who is retiring. Retired RealNetworks executive Alex Alben and perennial Dunn opponent Heidi Behrens-Benedict, are seeking the Democratic nomination.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com